Carrot Cupcakes for baby (and me too)

We skipped getting a cake last week for my birthday.  I had planned on making these carrot cupcakes but didn't get around to it.  Today seemed like a perfect day since my parents are in town visiting and they could lend a hand.  The recipe is from the book "Cooking for Baby" by Lisa Barnes.  I was drawn to it because I love carrot cake, well I love the frosting and I like the cake. :) I figured that a baby-safe recipe would be perfect because it could double as a meal for the baby.  

I was able to use some of the delicious (and abundant) carrots that we've been getting each week from our CSA.

Carrot Cupcakes

Ingredients

1 orange

6 oz of carrots (about 3-4)

1/2 cup canola oil

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 1/2 cup unbleached flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg (I accidentally used 1 tsp and it tasted great)

1/4 tsp salt

6 oz cream cheese (I used 8 oz, the more frosting the better!!)

1/2 cup powdered sugar (I used about 2/3 cup)

1. Preheat oven to 400.  Using the small rasps of a box grater zest an orange.  Measure out 1 tsp zest and set aside.  Squeeze orange and set aside 1 Tbsp juice.

2. Shred carrots using large holes on the box grater.  You should have about 1 1/2 cups.  Set aside.

3. In a large bowl, beat together oil and sugar until combined, then add eggs, one at a time.  Add flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt and 1 tsp orange zest and beat until combined.  Fold in grated carrots.

4. Line a 12 cup cupcake pan with paper liners.  Spoon batter into each cup, filling half full.  Bake until a toothpick comes out of the center clean, about 15-20 minutes.  Remove cupcakes from pan and let cool on a wire rack while making frosting.

5. In a medium mixing bowl beat cream cheese with a handheld mixer on low speed until smooth and creamy.  Sift powdered sugar over cream cheese and beat until combined.  Add orange juice and beat until creamy.

6. Once cupcakes are cool, top each with a dollop of frosting and smooth it using a table knife or metal spatula.  If desired, garnish each cupcake with a few sprinkles of orange zest (I skipped this part).

To store: Hold cupcakes in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Makes 12 cupcakes

This recipe would be perfect for a 1st Birthday party.  I wish I had it back when my 4 year old had her 1st birthday.  I spent weeks trying all different organic/homemade cupcake recipes trying to find just the right one.  They turned out okay, but these are much better!

Fisher Price Fridays - Play Family Circus Train

This week on Fisher Price Fridays I'd like to introduce you to a fun set the Play Family Circus Train #991.  The train was made between 1973-1986 in a few different combinations.  First with four cars and later with only three.  My set is a mishmash of pieces from different years and is not complete.  However, this pull toy still has a yellow chord and I often hear the click-clack sound that the train makes as my 4 year old happily pulls it around our house.  So it may be mismatched but it's still loved!

Between 1972-1979 the set came with a lion, elephant, monkey, bear and giraffe.  After 1979 they omitted the giraffe which really is a shame since it's a lovely animal.  I started my set with a couple pieces that I found for very cheap at a garage sale, including the elephant and one lion.  I later added the other animals thru Ebay and Craigslist.  That is why I have a mommy and daddy lion (as the 4 year old calls them), but I figured the more the merrier.

The circus train came with the conductor, the clown with the yellow hat and a ringmaster (not pictured).  The conductor could be short or tall.

These other clowns belong to an accessory set #675 which could be purchased as an addition to the circus train set or for the #657 Crazy Clown Fire Brigade.

The elephant is a versatile animal.  He can stand on all fours as shown and can also balance on his back legs.  His trunk moves around and can hold a little people figure.  It is probably my favorite animal of the set for this very reason.  The elephant does not have his own car to travel in, although I think he would fit nicely in the flatcar that the earlier versions have.  I don't have a flatcar in my set and am always on the lookout for one.

The train engine has two seats inside for FPLP to ride in case the engineer wants company.  The yellow push button makes a "toot-toot" sound when you push it.  The train also makes a "clack-clack" sound when you pull it by the yellow cord.

The giraffe has his own green and yellow cage car.  The yellow door folds down and there are little lithographs of giraffe heads on each side of the car.  Some versions of the giraffe car are blue and yellow.

Between 1974-1978 the giraffe car had lithographs of a clown on each end.  

The lion also has moveable arms, legs and a head.  He can actually fit through the door of his cage car unlike his friend the giraffe.  Other versions of the circus train have a lion flatcar rather than a cage car.  They are either blue or green and have lion lithographs on the sides.  

The circus bear is great because he can sit, stand on his hind legs or walk on all 4 legs.  So versatile. :)  The bear is the other animal that does not have his own car in any of the versions of the set.  Perhaps he is supposed to ride up front with the train engineer?

The monkey can hang out all over the place.  His arms and legs are also jointed and his tail is flexible.  As a result he can be in many different positions on his monkey caboose.

The monkey caboose has seats for two passengers and yellow doors on the front and back that open and shut.  Each side of the caboose has lithographs of a monkey head.

The baby discovered the circus train this week and enjoyed pulling it down and trying to disconnect the cars from each other.  She was also intrigued by the "toot-toot" of the engine.

I'm not saying who, but we did discover the clown had an unfortunate accident.  Now it isn't all my kids fault as this poor little clown came to me like this.  My glue job didn't hold.  I'll be putting away this guy until the baby is MUCH bigger. ;)

Quinoa "Macaroni" and Cheese

I was feeling like comfort food last night so I whipped up a new quinoa recipe that I found on my friend Kim's blog.  I only made a couple changes.

Quinoa "Mac" and Cheese
Ingredients
1 cup quinoa
veggies of choice (I used 1 broccoli bunch and 1 yellow pepper)
1 tsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 large eggs
1 cup milk
2 cups cheddar cheese (it called for 1 1/2 cups but I figured the more cheese the better)
Panko bread crumbs

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350.  Cook quinoa according to directions (I use a rice cooker).  While it is cooking lightly saute veggies in olive oil.
2. Mix eggs and milk in a large bowl.
3. Fold in quinoa, salt, veggies, garlic and cheese.  Pour into a deep pie dish (I used a corning wear dish).  Top with bread crumbs.
4. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until topping is a golden brown.

The 4 year old and I loved this dish.  I also thought it warmed up great for leftovers this afternoon.  The husband wasn't a big fan of the different textures, but he did have two servings so it can't have been too bad. ;)

Wordless Wednesday - The view from here

What do you suppose the 4 year old was looking at on a recent sunny morning?

Our view from the backyard is pretty interesting...

...when the hot air balloons fly over.

Spring Vegetable Beef Stew

I mentioned this provencal beef stew awhile back but I decided to feature it again and include the recipe this time.  What I love about this stew is that it uses spring veggies instead of potatoes.  Last week's CSA box just happened to have some lovely zucchini in it.  I also used carrots, bay leaves and thyme sprigs from recent CSA boxes.  So perfect!

There is a little bit of prep for this meal, but since it's a crock pot recipe you don't have to do the cooking at the busy part of the day.

Spring/Summer Vegetable Beef Stew
Ingredients
2 tsp olive oil
1 1/2 lbs stew meat (I used grass fed roast cut into 1 inch cubes)
1 tsp salt, divided
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
2 medium onions, cut into 8 wedges
8 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup dry red wine
1 cup beef broth
2 Tbsp tomato paste
3 fresh (or dried) bay leaves
3 fresh thyme springs
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes, drained
3 cups (1 inch) sliced zucchini
2 cups (1 inch) sliced carrots

Directions
1. Heat oil in a large nonstick pan over medium-high heat.  Sprinkle beef with 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper then dredge in flour.  Add beef to pan and saute 2 minutes, browning on all sides.  Place beef in crock pot.
2. Add onions and garlic to pan, saute for 5 minutes.  Add wine to pan, scraping pan to loosen browned bits.  Place onion mixture in the crock pot.
3. Add broth, tomato paste, bay leaves, thyme and tomatoes to the crock pot.  Top with zucchini and carrots.  Cover and cook on low for 8 hours or until beef is tender.
4. Stir in remaining 1/2 tsp salt and remaining 1/4 tsp pepper.  Discard bay leaves and thyme sprigs.

Enjoy with some freshly baked or heated bread.  I bought a lovely loaf of par-baked (partly baked) bread from Trader Joe's.  And remember if you have left-over beef stock, this is a handy way to save it for your next recipe.